Felix Comes to Paris
by JajaLala
Summary: Felix moves in with his cousin Adrien in Paris. He tries to avoid making friends, but when you live with your cousin and see his annoying best friend every day, it's impossible to not grow from the experience.
1. Chapter 1

"Welcome to the Agreste estate," Natalie said as I exited the limousine, "Would you like me to take your bags?"

"Sure," I replied.

However, when she opened the trunk, the first thing she pulled out was my violin case, "Except for that. That, I can carry myself."

I grabbed it from her and hurried inside as she picked up two other suitcases to bring in.

Inside the estate was spacious, though bare. Footsteps echoed through the hallway before I could see their source, Adrien. He opened his arms for a hug "Felix! It's great to see you!"

I nodded towards the violin in my hands, indicating I was unavailable for hugs (thank the gods). "Hey, Adrien. It's been awhile."

Adrien's arms came down, apparently not offended. "I know, right? We haven't seen each other since we were, what, 10?"

I shrugged as if I did not know. When I first heard I was going to live with Adrien, I had counted back when we last saw each other and remembered it was indeed when we were 10, but I did not want to seem obsessive by knowing that.

Natalie approached us with some of my bags, "Felix, if you'll follow me, I'll show you to your room."

I nodded, and followed her as she went down the hallways. Adrien followed me, he peered at my violin case.

"So Felix, what can you play now? Last time I saw you, you could barely scratch out a few tune!"

"I don't really play anymore," I said as I turned away.

"Oh."

We continued in silence for what felt like minutes.

Adrien broke it. "So you're probably wondering what school is going to be like."

"I guess."

"The people there are pretty cool. You should meet my friend Nino, you'll like him. He's got this energy and enthusiasm for life I really admire," I yawned as Adrien carried on describing his friends, "and there's Alya, who runs the LadyBlog, do you know about Ladybug? And Chat Noir? I'll explain later. Anyway, she's a good writer and her friend, Marinette, is good at design and video games and basically everything. Oh, and I should mention Chloe. She's the mayor's daughter, which has kind of isolated her socially. I mean, she's also got a personality issue-"

"Your room, Felix," Natalie said as she opened a door half way down a hall.

"My room is over there, by the way," Adrien said as he pointed to the end of the hallway, "Feel free to pop in any time."

"Thanks," I said as Natalie put down my bags, "I'll be unpacking now."

"Do you want help?" Adrien asked, friendly as ever.

I turned away, "No thanks."

After Natalie brought in the last bag, I hopped onto the bed and laid down, resting my violin case next to my head. I knew I should have been unpacking, as I told Adrien, but I could not bring myself to do so yet. The room had a bookshelf that was conveniently half filled, though mostly with encyclopedias and textbooks. I opened one of the boxes I brought with me, half-filled with clothes and half-filled with books. I took out my favorite comfort book, _Ella Enchanted_.

I would never admit I adored it, and anyone who asked would be told it was an awful birthday gift from my mother years ago that I keep to save her feelings. But since I was young, I found comfort in the arms of Ella's exploits. I was thrilled by her cleverness, and entranced by the romance. When no one was looking, I indulged myself in the story. I knew I was too old for these sorts of fairy tales, but in weak moments like this I could not resist.

While Ella is at the (literal) giant wedding, a knock on the door forces me to shove the book under my pillow, "Yes?"

Natalie opens the door, "Dinner is in the dining room."

"Okay, I'll be there in a minute."

She leaves, I finish my paragraph, and head down.

In the dining room, Adrien is already seated, he waves as I approach, "Felix! How is unpacking going?"

I shrug as I take a seat in front of a prepared plate, "Okay."

"...So, what have you been up to these past couple of years?"

"Nothing interesting. School and stuff."

"Oh."

A silence falls over the table. Adrien looks towards his plate as he eats. He glances up, and when he looks at me, I avert my eyes. In a moment, I glance back and see he's looking at his plate again with a melancholy shading his face. It is my fault. I am a bad conversationalist, he probably dislikes me now. I imagine I should be disappointed, but my overwhelming feeling is relief. He will not expect anything from me like this. I would not be able to keep up with the pressure of conversing with him, especially considering he would get bored of me in a week or two.

I rush a little with my food to avoid extending the silence. As I get up to put my plate away, Natalie takes it out of my hand. Without the dish, I head straight for my room. Adrien stops me, "Are you sure you don't want help unpacking? I would be happy to help."

"No thanks."

School is a drag. I meet too many people to remember all their names. The desks are meant to be shared by 2 people, but since all the people in my class were already paired up, I was put as a third on Adrien's desk. The other person who shared the desk was called Nino.

He greets me energetically, "You must be Felix! Adrien mentioned you!"

I nodded.

"I'm Nino! So, you're sharing the desk with us?"

"I guess."

"Cool," His smile draws me to his eyes, which seem to shine gold in the light, "So what do you think of Paris so far?"

"It's fine." I tell him as I glance away from his eyes.

"Fine? Just 'fine'? The capital of France, the city of romance, home of the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and you say it's just 'fine'?" I am taken aback by his facetious confrontation, "Adrien! We'll have to show Felix what makes Paris great, since he clearly has not had a good impression so far."

Adrien lets out a gentle laugh, the most relaxed I had seen him since I had reunited with him.

Not wanting to upset Adrien, I let Nino prattle on loudly, as annoying as it was. He continued on about the many merits of Paris, practically making an itinerary. As he spoke to me so friendly, it took all my willpower to prevent myself from shoving him away.

Thankfully, the teacher begins her lesson, stopping Nino's incessant chatter.

Adrien and I walk to the limo, Nino between us. This time, he was having a conversation with Adrien about some show or another. I naturally tuned it out, as it had nothing to do with me. Suddenly, though, they were both looking at me, "What?" I asked.

"What kind of TV shows do you watch?" Nino asked.

I shrugged, "I don't really watch TV."

"No TV? Oh man, we're gonna introduce you to so many things!"

"That's not really necessary," I told him as I got into the limo.

Looking at him, he seemed a little offended. Good, that will get him off my back. Adrien slid into the seat next to me, and waved to Nino as he closed the door. The limo started.

"Felix… Do you not like it here?"

I shrugged, "It's okay."

"Do you not like me?"

I froze.

Adrien continued, "I thought we were friends when we little, and I understand if that doesn't necessarily transfer to when we're older, but… I was looking forward to having you here. I was hoping we could at least become friends."

My brain figured out how to work, "No, Adrien, it's not you. It's me. You did nothing wrong."

"Than why can't we be friends?"

"I-… you wouldn't want to be friends with me."

"Really? I was friends with you before and happy about it. I want to be friends."

"That's what you say now, but later you'll see what a drag I am, and-"

"I want to friends with you, Felix."

"Why would you want that? I'm telling you now that I'm an awful friend."

"I just do."

The limo pulled up to the mansion, I opened the door before Natalie or Gorilla could, "Sorry Adrien, I know you're trying to be nice, but I don't want it."

I hurry to my room. Although Adrien, seems determined to chase after me, Natalie waylays him, "Your Chinese tutor is here."

Adrien goes towards the living room as I escape into my room.

It starts to get late. I hear a knock on my door, and hide my book under my pillow. Without waiting for an answer, Adrien opens the door.

"Hey," he says.

"Hey."

He walks nervously, but settles in on one of the chairs.

He starts, "So, um, you asked why I wanted to be your friend."

"I know, 'you just do'. I don't care, Adrien, leave me alone, I'll be fine."

"That's not it though!" Adrien says, louder than I had heard him speak before.

He realizes his own volume, and coughs before continuing.

"I said 'I just do', but that was a simplification. The truth is," he hesitates, but decides to power through, "I'm lonely, Felix."

I don't know what to say, his eyebrows are knit and his face downcast, brimming with rawness.

"I said I wanted to be your friend as if it's just a nice thing to do, but truthfully I just want a friend. Especially a friend to share this house with. Did you see my dinner table? Can you imagine eating at that long, empty table three times a day without anyone to talk to? And- and spending all day in this house, alone, not allowed to invite friends over, not that I have many anyway. When I heard you were coming to stay with us, I remembered back when we were children, when you would visit. And I remember playing games with you, and listening to you play the violin, and just having someone to talk to, to be with. And I thought: maybe that'll happen, maybe my days could be less lonely again." Adrien gathered himself up, "So when I ask you to be my friend, I'm not asking out of pity. I'm asking because I need a friend right now, and I want you to be that friend. I know it's kind of selfish, and I'd be lying if I said something like, 'it's because you're special' or something because it's really because you happen to be living with me, but regardless I want to, so would you be my friend?"

I can not respond immediately, I am awed by his sincerity, and feel ashamed to do anything but answer in kind, "Adrien, I didn't realize you felt this way."

He gave a light chuckle, "That's why I told you, so you would realize. You know, communication and stuff."

I sigh, "You're a wonderful person. You might be lonely, but you're still great, and I… I'm sorry I've been pushing you away. The truth is, I don't know how to have friends. At my old school, there was some… stuff. And that stuff kind of forced me to learn how to like being alone."

"What kind of stuff?" Adrien interrupted.

"Private stuff," I said sternly, "Anyways, I've been avoiding friendship because… I'm afraid I can't live up to people's expectations, that I'll be a bad friend. And I don't know if I can trust anyone because… Well, it's hard to choose who to trust. And I'm sorry I was rude to you. And I don't know how anything works but if you're willing to be my friend then… let's be friends."

Adrien's face broke into a smile. "So we're friends?"

"If that's how it works, then I guess so."

"Then we are!" He opened his arms, "Hug?"

"Let's work up to that."


	2. Chapter 2 - Dubstep Violin

Although I have been growing closer to Adrien, Nino remains an enigma.

He does not have a serious bone in his body. I cannot imagine what Adrien sees in his foolish antics and aimless chatter. But, since Adrien likes him in spite of all of this, I do my best to tolerate him.

We are working in a group for mathematics. Adrien and I have started, but Nino is listening to a song on his headphones. "We're supposed to be _working_ ," I tell him sternly.

He does not seem to have heard exactly what I said, but he takes his headphones off, "Felix, you _have_ to listen to this song!"

Before I can protest he puts the headphones on my head, messing up my hair. It's some sort of weird synth or electronic beat, and I grab the headphones to rip them off.

Then the violin starts.

My hands pause. And hold. The violin is fast, running through notes in a staccato over that strange beat. The mood changes as the strokes turn to plucks and the background weakens, then builds to a charged re-entry of strong electro beat and fast violin.

It is so expressive. I feel it swell and soar, not just with the beauty characteristic of a violin, but an energy I have never heard before. The closest I can compare it to is a gorgeous fiddle, but that description does not do the music justice. It is nothing like the classical music I listen to. It is nothing like the pop songs I occasionally hear on the radio. It is miraculous.

As the song comes to a finale, my eyes are closed. I want to appreciate the violin. And the player, whoever it is, their expression is strong and impossible to ignore.

When there is no more song, I open my eyes. Both Nino and Adrien are looking at me expectantly. Embarrassed, I take the headphones off and shove them back to Nino. "So, you liked it?" Nino asked.

"It was okay," I lied, "We really should work on this project, though."

Nino laughed, "Don't worry, Adrien and I have been working on it while you were distracted."

"I- I wasn't distracted! I was being polite, listening fully to what you forced upon me."

"Aw, thanks!" Nino somehow took that as a compliment.

I look at his paper, "Also, I hardly call those dinosaur doodles 'work'."

He chuckles, "Don't hate on the dinosaurs, man. They help me concentrate."

I put on my best deadpan face.

"No, really, doodling keeps me from falling asleep."

"Perhaps if you paid attention to the material, you would be interested enough to _not_ fall asleep."

"I try! But it's just not interesting," He leans back in his chair and put his hands behind his head, "Maybe if they taught us stuff I cared about..."

"Like what?" I challenge him.

"I dunno, taxes?"  
I could not hide the surprise on my face, "Taxes? You're interested in taxes?"

"Well, not interested, exactly," He looks thoughtfully, "But it's something that I know will actually have a use in life. Like, when am I going to need the quadratic formula? Or the exact year of some ancient battle? Or the billion other facts we're supposed to memorize? Like, what's the point? At least with taxes, I'll be bored learning skills I will definitely need later in life."

"I suppose that philosophy has some merit," I conceded.

Adrien interrupts us, "Um, guys? Math project."

"Yes!" I feel ashamed to lose focus so easily, but it is because Nino somehow lured me into a conversation. He always seemed to find a way to slack off. He sighs as he looks down at the math sheet, and we finally begin work.

Listening to that one song seemed to have encourage Nino. At least once a day, he finds a chance to spring his headphones on me and make me endure another one of his songs. He even taught me some terms, such as 'dubstep', which refers to strong electronic beats. Although I do not admit to liking any of them, I listen through each song respectfully, hoping he will bring up the electro-violin song again and I can maybe peek on his phone for the name. To my disappointment, it has not come up again.

Adrien is at his fencing class, as usual, and I know I am alone in the house. The melody refuses to escape my head, as I lay in bed trying to study. I need to hear it again, but I do not know what it is.

I look towards my violin case.

I can not hear the exact song again, but perhaps I can recreate an approximation to satisfy my need. I open the case, and gingerly lift my bow. After tightening it, I rub it over some rosin. I then lift the violin itself, and hesitantly play a few notes. It has become out of tune. Using my phone to find the necessary notes, I slowly tune it.

Finally, it is ready to play, and I try to feel out what I heard. Was it here? Or this note? I don't know if I'm starting at the right note, but I work through what I remember, and feel as if I have at least a general grasp of the sound. I at least have the relative notes for part of it figured out. I keep trying to capture it. Although I think I'm close, I am sorely lacking. I only heard the song once, over a week ago, and I lack the expressiveness of the original violinist.

I remember how forceful it was. How it demanded to be heard. How loose, and free.

I have worked long enough on trying to recreate that mysterious song. I let my fingers go.

My strokes are hesitant at first, lacking any guidance. But as I force myself to carry on, I find myself falling into a rhythm, a song. Thinking of the mysterious song, I incorporate some harsh staccatos, bringing out some of my own frustrations. Both listening and making the music, I have slipped into a minor key, further letting out the tenseness that has built up inside of me.

Every movement makes me looser, even my body literally begins to sway. I roll through some arpeggios without reason, I strike high notes with a starkness I rarely used to dare, and let myself do what I want. And with every stroke, I can not help but want more.

The sound of a car approaching breaks me out of my trance. Adrien must be back. My body pauses, realizing a world outside exists. I do not want Adrien to see me in such a private moment. The violin and loosened bow are quickly back in the case. As I hear footsteps coming down the hall, I pick up a book and sit in a chair, as if I had been reading the whole time.

On cue, Adrien walks in without knocking and goes straight to my bed, collapsing onto it in exhaustion, "Fencing was ridiculous. Some kid had sloppy form, and so Armand made all of us run through footwork, like, fifty million times! I'm so tired," He sighed, "What about you?"

"I've been reading..." I looked at the random book I picked up, "...War and Peace."

"Is it good?" Adrien asked.

"I've barely started," Actually, despite owning the book, I have not read it at all, so I quickly switch the subject, "More importantly, I've got a song I can't seem to get out of my head."

"What song?"

"I don't know! Nino showed it to me once, so I've been listening to everything he gives me in the hopes of hearing it again, but it hasn't shown up!"

Adrien laughed, "That's easy to fix, just ask him."

I pause, "Ask him?"

"You know, 'Hey Nino, what was that song you showed me?', easy as that."

"But I don't want to appear as if I actually _like_ his music."

"Why not?"

"Well, I don't want to encourage him."

"What do you mean, 'encourage him'?"

"To talk to me and so forth."

"Do you dislike him that much?"

"Yes! He's obnoxious, and lacks discipline, and won't shut up, and-"

"But you liked that song?"

"Well, yes."

"So he's not _all_ bad."

I contemplated this, "I suppose."

"And you talk to him all the time anyway."

"Only because he engages me in conversation."

Adrien's phone beeped, he pulled it out, and a look of panic came over his face, "Ladybug is in a fight! Felix, I have to go. I'm… a really huge fan of hers, and can not resist a chance to see her in person. You let Nino in and entertain him while I'm gone."

"Wait, what?"

"He's coming to see me soon, but I can't stay here, so you talk to him. Ask him about that song and stuff."

"Adrien! I can't do that! Besides, you're not supposed to have friends over, right?"

"Well, _I'm_ not," He shifted his eyes, "But you're not under the same rules. So I kind of told Nathalie Nino was coming to visit you."

"Adrien!" I exclaim, flabbergasted.

"Hey, it'll technically be true now!" Adrien was pacing, eager to leave, "So you take care of Nino for me, 'kay? I'll be back soon."

"You don't actually expect me to do this, do you?" I ask with my arms crossed.

He opens the window and hops onto the nearby tree branch to escape, "Thankyousomuchseeyousoonbye!"

He is gone before I can protest further. He likes to go out recklessly through the windows like some sort of thief whenever he is sneaking out, and I am still getting used to that.

I flop onto the bed in frustration, but before I have a chance to recover, I hear footsteps. Nathalie knocks on my door, "Felix, Nino is here to see you."

She opens the door, and Nino comes in, "Hey buddy!"

I dislike the word 'buddy'.

Nathalie exits, leaving Nino and I alone, "So did Adrien tell you about the plan to slip me in here? I know you didn't actually invite me over, but to get me in Adrien had to say I was visiting you and not him, you know, 'cause his dad's weird about letting Adrien have a social life."

"I know, Adrien told me five minutes ago before he left."

"He left?"

"That superheroine is active, so he ran out to try and see her," I roll my eyes, "He's obsessed."

Nino looks disappointed for once. And he is quiet. I know I have said he should stop talking before, but now it is making an awkward silence. I wish he would talk, or that Adrien was still here. Adrien was good with people, he would know what to say. All I can do is offend people. Nino looks up at me. This is Adrien's guest. I do not want him to have a bad memory of Adrien because I was a bad host. What would Adrien do?

"So," I break the silence, "Um, you showed me a song awhile back."

"I show you a lot of songs. It's my duty to share my good taste with musically deprived kids like you."

"Yeah, but there was one that had a violin."

"Could you be more specific?"

"Are there more than one with a violin?"

"Probably. I don't really know, what's it sound like?"

"A violin or the song?"

He shrugs, "I'm no instrument connoisseur, but I kind of know what a violin sounds like. Tell me about the song itself."

I am appalled, 'kind of know' the sound of a violin? Who is so uncultured as to not be able to recognize such a distinctive instrument?

"Felix? The song?"

I realize I am in shocked silence, and quickly gather myself, "Yes, the song. It had some of that 'dubstep' sound, but over that was a violin."

"I have a _lot_ of dubstep."

"The melody was, like…" I attempt to imitate it with my voice, but my vocal rendition is atrocious.

Nino cringed a little, "Yeah, I don't recognize that."

I realize I can't use my voice, but I can use something else, "Wait!"

I hurry to violin case. Fortunately, I had not had time to clean the rosin off earlier, so I can play immediately. I start to play the bits I figured out and remembered. I am sloppy, but find the notes well enough to make it recognizable.

"Oh!" Nino exclaims, "That first song I showed you!"

"Yes!"

"That was some of Lindsey Stirling's work."

I have to memorize that name, "Lindsey Stirling?"

"Yeah, she's a violinist. Let's see… If I remember correctly, I showed you the zombie one."

"Zombie?"

"Yeah, there's a music video that goes with it, let me show you..."

Felix pulls out his phone, and joins me on the side of the bed. His shoulder is almost touching mine as he sits down and scrolls through YouTube results of a search. He finds the video, and leans over to give me a better view, causing our shoulders to touch.

I am not accustomed to physical contact. Not that touching Nino was necessarily awful but I feel like I'm stiffening up and he will notice and think I am weird. But I also do not want to move away because he will think I am weird then as well. But are we close enough to be at the stage of casual touching? Is it weird that I am not weirded out? Is he normal and I am weird or is he weird and I am normal? Everything is weird. He is warm, it might be nice to casually touch someone like this if I was not so worried about what he thought of me.

Fortunately I can focus on the music video to distract myself.

Adrien returns after 8 songs and their corresponding music videos.

"...I can't get enough of this, she's incredible!" I rave.

"I can make you a mix of her songs if you want, the best of the best." Nino offers.

"Please do."

"I see you two are getting along well."

Nino and I look up at once to see Adrien climbing through my window. I realize with a start how close Nino and I are, and under Adrien's gaze I feel embarrassed and have to scoot away.

"Adrien!" Nino exclaims with enthusiasm, "So you finally decided to show up."

Adrien laughs, "Yeah, sorry about that."

"No sweat, Felix and I got to hang out."

"That's cool, I'm glad you two are getting along," Adrien looks legitimately relieved, and I remember the rude things I said about Nino this earlier. Really, how did he trust me with Nino after I complained about him like that? Still, I am glad he took that leap of faith and let us hang out.

"Sadly for you, Adrien, I have to get home soon," Nino sighs, though he is still smiling, "You missed out."

"I'm really sorry, I just had to-"

"I know, I know, Felix told me all about it. We can hang out some other day. And hey, since I can actually visit your house now, expect some more visits," Nino turns to me, "You too, Felix."

He exits the room, waving, "Bye guys, see you at school!"

"See you!" Adrien replies, and I wave.

Nino is gone, and Adrien looks at me. "What?" I ask.

"I really am glad you two are getting along. I was worried when I left, but this turned out better than I expected."

"What were you expecting?"

Adrien started walking towards the door, "Wow! I am tired! I guess chasing a superheroine around the city right after fencing really uses up the energy, I better take a nap..."

"Hey! Adrien!" I call out as he escapes.

"Can't talk, too tired, bye!"


	3. Chapter 3 - New Friend

I'm tapping my foot. My arms are crossed while sitting at a table outside of the restaurant. I glance at my phone where Nino's latest text stares at me: "sorry i gotta cancel, see u tomorrow?"  
Of course I would see him tomorrow, but would I be happy to see him? This is the fourth time he has canceled on our plans. The previous times, though, at least Adrien was with me. Adrien was supposed to be here too, but he seemed to have disappeared. The only reason I am still waiting is in case Adrien shows up. I did text him 10 minutes ago, but he has yet to respond. I will wait just 5 more minutes, and if he does not respond, I will leave.  
I wondered if this was deliberate. I have only recently gotten to know them, but I have been hanging out with them a lot. Maybe they have grown tired of me already, and canceling is their way of distancing themselves and avoiding me. Why were they even friends with me in the first place? I feel a ball of anxiety roll in my stomach; I am completely failing this whole 'friendship' thing. I should have stayed away from them in the first place, it is easier to deal with people from a distance. I would rather be a mystery than a disappointment.  
A voice interrupts my concerns, "Felix? What are you doing here?"  
I look up to see Chloé walking by the restaurant. Adrien has spoken briefly about her, not in the nicest terms, and on one occasion Nino went on a rant about her. And I have not been blind in the classroom where she has mistreated her short girl friend (what was her name?), not to mention a few others. Regardless, she has never done anything directly to me.  
I shrug, "Nino canceled on me, and Adrien won't text me back."  
She huffed, "Sabrina just canceled on me too! The nerve!"  
Before I can process what was happening, she sits down and drops her bag. "I need to rant," she turned to a waiter, "I want a caramel latte macchiato."  
Fortunately, the waiter was coming to take our order anyway, "And you, sir?" he asks me.  
"A vanilla latte, please," I have no clue what a latte is, but I have heard people say it before, and it sounds coffee-like. And vanilla seems like the safest flavor option. I hope it is not disgusting.  
"So Sabrina and I were supposed to meet up, and she was going to accompany me shopping, right? But then, all of a sudden, she texts me being all like," Chloé pulls out her phone to read from it, and her voice goes whiny and soft, "'Um, I'm super sorry Chloé, my dad is in the hospital, so I can't go shopping with you.'"  
"Wow, how dare she go see her dad in the hospital instead of you," I say sarcastically.  
She misses the sarcasm, "I know, right? It's just not fair. I should be coming first! Her dad is a police officer, of course he's going to get hurt every now and then."  
"What happened to him?"  
"It's not even serious, like, he literally just sprained his wrist," She rolls her eyes, "He tripped chasing some litterers or something."  
I scoff, "He got into a chase over littering?"  
"I know, right? So lame!"  
She opens her compact mirror to check her makeup. Squinting, she pulls out a brush to freshen her blush, "So, Felix, what does Nino consider more important than you?"  
That stings. I honestly cannot tell if she intended to be caustic, or if she is so naturally dense she does not realize how rude she is. I hope for the latter, "I didn't ask, and don't care," I tell her, trying to distance myself from Nino so she does not think I am too sensitive.  
She closes her compact and looks at me, "No wonder, you could do so much better. Get yourself a good friend like my Sabrina, who will serve you properly. Well, until her dad hurts himself."  
"Like who?" I ask, a little curious as to who she considers friend material.  
"Well, Rose has got the doormat part down. Seriously, ask any favor and she'll do it."  
"Really?" I ask.  
"It's sickening. She's always putting up that sweet face like she wants to be taken advantage of. Not to mention, who is that nice in real life? I bet in a few years she's gonna snap and go on a murder spree."  
"If she doesn't already have a body in her closet," I add. I do not know Rose well at all, but she does have an innocent demeanor. And I like the idea of someone so sweet being secretly evil. Briefly, I consider whether I should be saying such things. I regretted saying rude things about Nino to Adrien, but then again, I do not like Chloé. If she thinks I am awful for what I say about others, then it is not like I would lose a friend worth having.  
Chloé thinks so as well, "Oh my god, if anyone had a body in her closet, it would be her."  
The waiter returns with our drinks. I try to sip the vanilla latte, and discover it is too hot. I decide to leave it for a minute.  
Chloé barely even looks at her drink, "You know who is too much of a goody-two-shoes to not have some sort of dark secret? Marinette. Let me tell you..."

I am lying on my bed, thinking about the days events. By the end of the afternoon, I think we had complained about every single person in class. Except for Adrien, of course. I learned a lot from Chloé about the class, mostly bad things. However, I enjoyed the experience. Complaining about others made me feel better about myself, and Chloé was more than willing to support that habit. When I recognize the flaws of others, I feel as if I am above them, a god of judgment who is not affected by "friends" who ditch them. By focusing on the insecurities of others, I am distracted from my own. Ranting to her was cathartic. Not to mention that so long as Chloé exists, I know I am not the worst person in the world. So while she is judging others, I also get the chance to judge her. She is a walking harpy. And I want to be her friend.  
We exchanged phone numbers before her limo came to pick her up. I had a few other numbers, such as Adrien, Nino, my parents, and…  
I look at my contact list. I had deleted most of the people from my old school. Not that I had many from there, either. But there was one number I have not deleted.  
Eldon.  
My fingers pause over his name. I should delete him; there is no conceivable reason I would want to call him now or in the future. It has been weeks since I moved here; I should be cutting ties with my old school and moving on. Besides, it is not like he is going to suddenly call me after all this time. And I am certainly not going to call him.  
I put the phone on my nightstand, and open up Ella Enchanted to read.

Nino is practically prostrating before me.  
"I swear, bro, it'll never happen again."  
"That's what you said last time!" I moan.  
"No, for real this time, though, I'm gonna do my best to honor my commitments from now on!" He raises one hand and puts the other on his chest, as if swearing by his heart. Although he puts up a facade of solemnity, I recognize his casually mischievous attitude underneath. I do not know if Nino hates me, but if he does he does a good job of hiding it. I figure I can push my luck, "If you're so serious, then pay for me next time to make up for it."  
He sighs in relief, "Awesome, so you forgive me?"  
"I'll forgive you after I get some food."  
"Totes can do, man, does today work?"  
"Actually, I'm spending time with a friend after school today, so no." I look towards Chloé.  
Nino follows my gaze, then looks back at me. His eyes bug out as realization dawns on him. Nino grabs my shoulders and looks me straight in the eye, his face is intense, but his voice comes out as a harsh whisper, "Chloé? Really? Dude, are you okay?" He puts his hand on my forehead.  
My heart jumps out of my chest at the unexpected contact before I realize he is merely trying to check my temperature. I brush his hand away, "I'm perfectly fine. I happen to think Chloé is great to hang out with, especially since I can count on her to be there when she says she will."  
"Aw, not cool dude, I said I'm gonna work on that."  
"And you can work on it," I tell him, "Tomorrow, when I am not busy."  
He groans, "Fine, fine. Tomorrow, then."  
Just as the last bell rings, Adrien runs into the classroom, and Marinette follows close behind. As the teacher begins class, Alya also runs in, looking down at her phone, "Alya! Why are you so late?" The teacher asks.  
"Sorry, I had to catch the latest akuma attack!" She says, not looking up from her phone as she blogs.  
"Classic Alya," Nino says, rolling his eyes.


	4. Chapter 4 - Dance Breaker

There is music blasting over the PA system. We are gathered at the window, looking down at the gym, where a group of students are break dancing to the tune. The students are gasping for breath, unable to stop their bodies from moving. Above them floats a girl in black shorts and a green tank top. Her green baseball cap spins around at random times, as if it has a mind of its own. "C'mon kids, pop it! We'll show those judges what _real_ dancing looks like!" She yells over them. A student leaving the bathroom is confronted by the scene. She gasps, alerting the leader of her presence. "Hey girl, you wanna dance?" The leader says, approaching her.

The girl shakes her head and begins running, but the leader snaps her fingers, and all her dancing minions surround the girl, blocking the exit and freezing into dynamic positions, "I'm sorry," the leader says, taking off her hat and flipping her hair, "I phrased it as a question, but it was a command."

She throws her hat, which spins onto the victims head. The girl drops on the ground and starts spinning uncontrollably, meanwhile the hat hops off and returns to the leader, "Now, I am your choreographer: Dance Breaker! Soon, I will make all of Paris dance to my moves!"

Another snap of her fingers and the frozen students are dancing again.

"Not so fast!" A girl in red spandex with black polka-dots appears.

"Your moves are totally wack," A blond boy in skin-tight leather and cat ears jumps down next to the red girl.

Paris is weird.

"Ladybug and Chat Noir! Thank goodness," Nino sighs.

I look at him, "Are those the superheroes you guys have mentioned?"

His eyes look at me curiously, "Oh yeah, you haven't seen them in action before, have you? Watch carefully, they're the coolest!"

Alya, who has her phone out, exits the classroom to get a better view. This triggers the class to start exiting. I do not know if that is actually safe, but since Nino joins them, I follow. We watch the fight from behind the guardrails. Dance Breaker occasionally tries to toss her hat over the heroes, but they counter each time, whacking it away with their yo-yo or baton. Dance Breaker decides it is futile, and resorts to basic violence. With a snap of her fingers, her dancers pull the basketball hoop up from the floor and throw it towards the heroes. Fortunately, they dodge effortlessly.

Unfortunately, we were behind them.

I stand stupidly, watching the pole get closer, beside me, I hear Nino yell: "Felix!"

I close my eyes, and feel something hit me.

I'm on the ground, but the thing that hit me feels strangely soft. And I was moved to the side instead of crushed. I open my eyes to see Nino's looking down on me. In fact, Nino is on top of me, I figure out he pushed me out of harms way. "Are you stupid? When you're about to get hit, run! You could've gotten hurt, or worse!"  
His face is, for once, serious.

I am uncomfortable at the sight. I have been looking for him to become serious since the day I met him, but seeing the expression on his face twists my insides. I want to crack a joke to diffuse the tension, but cannot find anything to say.

I find myself staring at his face. His golden eyes twitch from side to side, as if expecting some sort of reaction from me. I am frozen under his gaze… until a movement from my peripheral catches my attention.

The dancers are coming up the stairs. They dance threateningly towards Ivan, who is near the top of the stairs, and as he turns to escape, they grab him. The Dance Breaker's hat floats onto his head. I look towards Ladybug and Chat Noir to see if they will help, but Chat is distracted battling some dancers of his own without hurting them. Ladybug is engaged in battle with Dance Breaker herself.

I slide myself out from under Nino and grab him as I stand up to bring him up as well. With one glance towards the dancers rapidly advancing upon us, I run, dragging Nino with me. I find an empty classroom and run inside, closing the door behind us. I pull Nino down to hide out of view of the window and sit down, leaning against him in exhaustion, "Does this sort of thing happen often in Paris?" I ask.

He shrugs, "Kinda, yeah. It's actually been pretty calm the past month."

I am relieved to see his serious face is gone. Nonetheless, I groan, and bury my head in my knees, "This is crazy."

"Aw, don't worry about it, you'll get used to it."

"Get used to getting attacked by magical beings at school?"

"Hey now, all the villains are just normal people who are… possessed?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, when someone is upset or angry, they are vulnerable to 'akumas', which corrupt them and give them powers, like what you saw. Dance Breaker was probably just some regular girl before she got akumatized."

"You mean _any_ of us have the potential to destroy the school?"

He shifts his eyes, "Yeah, kinda…"

"Doesn't that make you uncomfortable? That you could turn evil at any moment and then…" I hesitate to continue, unsure of what Nino would do with that sort of power.

He shrugs, "I mean, it's happened to me before."

My eyes widen. What? I cannot imagine Nino being evil. I look at him, searching for any hint of maliciousness hidden beneath his sweet surface. He curls up and shifts his eyes away from me.

"It wasn't a big deal, I basically just forced everybody in class to party."

My shock goes down, "That's all?"

"Well, I might have also abducted all the adults in Paris," He turns back to me, "But I was in a very bad state of mind! I wouldn't normally want that sort of thing!"

"So what made you so upset that you would?"

"Well, Adrien's dad was being a square! He refused to let Adrien have a birthday party, can you believe it? So I thought it would be better if all the adults were gone so their kids could be free to do what they want."

I sigh, "That's… weirdly sweet?"

Nino laughs. I like the sound of his laughter.

I like him.

Panic rises in my chest. I try to shove away the thought, but he is sitting right next to me, keeping my attention focused on him. Being around him almost every day has forced me to grow fond of him, and now everything he does seems to be a ploy to make me like him more. I think back to him shoving me out of dangers way earlier today, and how much I wanted him to wipe away his uncharacteristic seriousness. And I did not even flinch at the fact he was on top of me, touching me. In fact, I realize that we are leaning against each other right now, and I become stiff obsessing about the fact we are touching. I had gotten so used to him being there, and now I suddenly feel awkward and embarrassed.

I tell myself I do not like him, and that I should go back to thinking of him in just a friendly way. If I start obsessing about him things will get weird and hurt our friendship. I breath in, and out. I do not like Nino. Besides, he is the epitome of things I hate: a foolish slacker with no sophistication or class. I only tolerate his presence for Adrien's sake.

Something knocks on the door. Nino stands up as I push myself against the door, trying not to let it in. However, I do not have a good grip on the floor to maintain my push, and I slip backwards as the thing behind the door shoves the door open. Fortunately, Nino catches me as I fall back.

Opening the door was just Max, "There you guys are! Ladybug and Chat Noir fixed stuff, it's safe to come out now."

Max does not wait for our reactions. He continues down the hallway knocking and opening doors, looking for others who have hidden. Nino laughs, "See? Everything turns out okay in the end."

Hyper aware of his arms around me, I hurriedly regain my balance and stand up, taking a step away from him for good measure, "So what? Do we just go back to class, then?"

As if hearing my question, the PA system turns on, "Attention students, the akuma situation has been taken care of and you are no longer in danger. However, since many of our students have been through a lot during the attack, we are releasing school early. I repeat, school is over."

Nino cheers.


	5. Chapter 5 - Chloé Makes Sense

"Chloé, I need you to tell me why Nino is the worst."  
She glances at me, pausing the brush of her nail polish against her fingernail, before bringing her gaze back down to focus. I admire how precisely she can maintain her manicure, and her ability to work with nail polish even while sitting on her furniture, seemingly unafraid of spilling some onto her chair. "Nino? He's not the worst..."  
I groan, and lift the magazine I had been reading back up to my face in annoyance.  
"But!" She continues, "He has some pretty awful points."  
I bring my attention back to her, "Well don't stop there, tell me about it."  
She dips her brush back in the polish before continuing, "Well for one thing, he's terrible at respecting people. You know, he once called my father, the mayor, 'dude'!"  
"Really?" I implore, egging her to continue.  
"Really! And respect is an important skill to have. Does he expect in the real world, at whatever job he gets, he can call people 'dude' and 'bro' all the time? Is that how he's going to interact with his bosses? And that's another thing, does he have any marketable skills?"  
I recall Nino ranting about wanting to be a DJ. My mind recalls how excited he was when I asked him to make a playlist for me, and I begin to run through that list of well-chosen songs (mostly Lindsey Stirling) which each worked for each other in the order he put them in, a list I had listened to an embarrassing number of times. I wonder whether DJ's were as casual a profession as they looked, or if there was professionalism required behind the scenes.  
"His grades are terrible, he's always groaning about barely passing tests and even whole classes! But even though he complains, he never does anything to bring his grade back up, have you ever seen him study?"  
I think back to when Adrien and I had tried to make a study party with Nino that, with Nino's distractedness soon became a regular party. We had stayed up late, chatting and laughing while our textbooks sat opened but unused.  
"And he's so egotistical, he thinks he has a chance with me!"  
My thoughts focus back entirely on Chloé, "Wait, what?"  
"I swear, he's flirted with me before, trying to act all cool by leaning up against a locker. Like, that's so cliché, you know? And then getting all up in my personal space, like excuse me! Not interested."  
My heart races. So is Nino into girls? Was Chloé telling the truth or did she misinterpret his friendliness for flirting? Do I ever mistake Nino's friendliness for flirting? Not that I think that he's flirted with me, or has he? He has leaned on my shoulder before, like when he's sleepy, is that normal? Is that what you do to a friend or a crush? I think he cares about me, he certainly pays attention to me and asks my opinion on things and sometimes I wonder if he's being so friendly because he just wants to make friends with the new or if he likes me, not that it's likely he likes me but there's a chance… except that he's flirted with Chloé. Does that mean he's straight? No, he could still be bi. Or maybe he's gay and just flirted with Chloé to look straight. Like, if I were trying to flirt with a girl without being taken seriously, Chloé might be a good candidate because she thinks she's too good for anyone and if I hurt her feelings I would not care. There would be very little risk of her reciprocating. She is clearly saying right now she is not interested in him, so I don't have to worry about her in terms of competition... except that regardless of whether she likes him if he likes her she kind of is competition, but there is no way he likes her. He has ranted on how much he hates her to me before. But what if he is trying to get over his feelings by focusing on the bad parts of her like I am trying to do now with him? Oh yeah, I'm supposed to be focusing on the bad things Chloé is saying.  
My focus returns to Chloé, who is still prattling on about Nino's flaws, "...So that's why I am appalled by his interior design skills."  
I nod as if I had been listening.  
"Why the sudden Nino hate anyway, Felix? I thought you and him were," She gags, "friends, despite your better judgment."  
I shrug, not daring to elaborate for fear Chloé might notice that I may be possibly crushing on him. Not that looking for his faults should hint at that at all, and besides, Chloé is so dense she would never notice.  
Unfortunately, Chloé has stopped focusing on herself for once and is curious about me, "Did you two get into a fight?"  
My eyes return to the magazine, as if I could not care less about our conversation, "Not exactly..."  
By this point, Chloé has finished painting her nails and is looking directly at me, "Then why? Did he do something bad?"  
"No, it's not important," I tell her, trying to drop the subject.  
Her eyes narrow, "You're being suspiciously vague about this."  
Why did Chloé have to become socially astute at this moment? "I was just wondering how you felt about him, no particular reason why."  
She takes out her phone, "Okay, so you won't mind if I call Nino up and ask if you two have been fighting?"  
"I told you, there's no fight. Besides, Nino will just think you're weird."  
She does not put the phone away.  
I feel a sweat coming on. Obviously Nino and I have not been fighting, but why would Chloé ask him about it? Nino would probably figure out I was talking about him to Choé. And he might think I was saying bad things about him. Not that I haven't before, but I do not want him to know that.  
She goes through her contacts, and brings up Nino's. Somehow, she has a picture of his face on it, and even from my seat away from her I can recognize his red cap and gold skin on the phone. Her finger hovers over the phone sign.  
"It's none of your business," I tell her.  
"I tell you plenty of my business," she counters, "but you rarely seem to reciprocate. It's rude. And why do you seem so shifty all of a sudden?"  
"Like I said, it's not important."  
"Then you shouldn't mind if I ask."  
Her finger taps the call button, and the first ring begins. I know it is ridiculous, I could probably come up with an excuse to explain Chloé's behavior to Nino…  
The second ring.  
But Chloé is right. She tells me quite a bit, like what she thinks and what she does. She is willing to hang out with me, she should have some right to hear about myself as well. And honesty might be the best policy. When Adrien tried to be friends with me, it did not work until he admitted the real reasons behind seeking out my friendship. Maybe my relationship with Chloé could be strengthened the same way.  
"Wait! Okay, okay, I'll tell," I cry out as the third ring begins.  
Chloé hangs up, and when I look at her face I have second thoughts. She has a smirk as though she has won something. Friendship should not be a competition. But it is too late to back out now. I have to tell her something, but there is no way I can trust her with knowing I am crushing on Nino. My mind races for an explanation.  
"Well? I'm waiting." She says, arms crossed.  
I sigh, "I don't know, it's stupid."  
She raises an eyebrow.  
"It's like… Yeah, we are friends, and I care about him, but I'm afraid maybe I care too much about him, or I'm getting too attached… I want to tune back my emotions, and I think it'll be easier to distance myself a little if I think of all the bad things about him, and you always know just what to say, so… I guess that's why I needed to hear some of that stuff."  
I have not looked her in the eye during the explanation. I hope it is the right amount of vague to prevent her from catching on, but let her feel like she knows stuff.  
I look at her as she begins to speak, "So you think he's planning to hurt you?"  
"What?" I ask.  
"You think he's planning to hurt you."  
"What?" I do not understand her, "What makes you say that?"  
"What's wrong with getting attached to people? Or caring about them? I like my Adrien, and I'm not afraid of it. I know that he cares about me too, and doesn't plan to hurt me. I trust him, so I can't imagine suppressing my love for him like that."  
I cringe at her use of an obviously one-sided crush example, "It's not like that. I don't think Nino would hurt me… but there's still a chance he could, if he wanted to. And if… if I get invested in him, what if it turns out he doesn't want to deal with me? It's safer to be casual, so if he ends up not wanting to be friends anymore it won't hurt. Because if I don't get invested, I can't get hurt."  
"Yeah, that's stupid."  
I sputter at her callousness, "N-no it's not! It's how I feel!"  
"From what I can tell, the way you feel about Nino is that you like him a lot. You're literally obsessing over him right now. Even if you try to tell yourself it's to get over him or something, you're dedicating time and energy to him. Worst of all, it's time and energy he doesn't even know about. He probably doesn't know you care about him this much because you're trying to look like you're not. Maybe if he knew how much you cared, he would pay attention to you. Look at Adrien and I: I'm not stupid, I know I can be over the top. I shove my feelings at him all the time, because I feel things for him all the time. It would be a lie to sit on the sidelines and let him believe I don't care. And because I show I care about him, Adrien is there for me. Do you think Nino will see you care about him and just, what? Say you can't be friends anymore? That's not how friendship works. If anything, it should bring you closer."  
"You're making way too much sense today," I tell her.  
She shrugs, "I can be deep."  
A thought occurs to me, "So have you considered taking your own advice like that with Sabrina?"  
Her eyes go wide as her face flushes, and her mouth is caught in an open state, trying to decide how to react. She closes her eyes, takes a breath, and returns to a familiar angry face, "Okay, I think we've had enough sharing feelings today."  
Her face is still red.  
My phone vibrates, and upon opening it I see the Gorilla has texted me, he is waiting outside the hotel.  
"It was great to hang, Chloé, but my ride is here, so I must take my leave."  
She nods, coughs, and grabs a magazine to focus her attention on, "Okay, goodbye."  
I pause for a moment, and she looks up, trying to cover the bottom half of her crimson face with the magazine, "Don't dawdle, I said goodbye, now go!"  
I laugh, "Goodbye, Chloé, thanks for the advice."  
She mumbles something into her magazine, but I cannot make out the words as I exit.


	6. Chapter 6 - Marinette

"Look at that panther!" Marinette exclaims, delighted to watch it roll over and expose its underside.

Both Adrien and Alya go to take a picture with their phone. Nino sidles on over to me, "So, are you enjoying yourself?"

I shrug as I continue to watch them, not daring to look Nino in the face. Truthfully, I am sort of having fun? I feel included, which is nice, but also the zoo is not especially exciting. Athough Alya and Marinette seem nice (contrary to Chloé's depictions of them), I do not know them well, and do not know how to interact with them, or whether they prefer I am not here.

Marinette squeals, then turns to look at us, "Did you guys see that?"

Nino laughs, "No, sorry Marinette, we missed it."

"Well come over here, it's being adorable!"

I walk beside Nino, glancing down at his side where his hand is swinging gently. Physically, it seems so easy to grab his hand and enjoy, but I know to actually do so would be a mistake. He doesn't even know I like him, holding hands out of the blue would freak him out. That is not flirting, it is something established couples do… What is flirting? I do like Nino, I should try to subtly make that known or make him consider me by flirting but… How do you flirt? And is there a special way boys flirt with other boys? I do not know.

My mind is interrupted by a collective sigh from the group as the panther continues to roll on its back, eyes looking up at us like some precious house cat. I groan, "Why's it so docile? I thought panthers were supposed to be predators, not kittens."

A low growl emanates from the panthers throat as it flips back onto its stomach. It could not have understood me… could it?

"Ooh, what about that giraffe! Let's go see that!" Marinette acts energetic, but seems rather hurried to leave.

So hurried, in fact that she bumps into Alya, causing them to ricochet of each other. Fortunately, as I was next to Marinette I catch her before she hits the ground, and Nino catches Alya. I hear Nino ask Alya if she's okay, and realize I should do the same.

"Are you alright?" I ask Marinette as she looks up at me.

She nods. I realize she's still leaning into my arms, so I tilt her up to her feet, "Thanks for catching me, I can be so clumsy."

"No problem," I tell her truthfully.

We begin to walk, all of us, to the giraffes.

Except for Adrien.

"Adrien? You coming?" Nino calls back to Adrien, who is still standing by the panther, frozen with a conflicted face.

He looks at Nino, and laughs nervously, "Yeah, I just got distracted."

We decided to stop to eat. I have a hot dog, which is less messy to eat than a burger. Marinette is the only other person to order a hot dog; the rest have hamburgers. The conversation fluctuates wildly. First about panthers, then about school, then about…

Romance.

"So Alya, what _would_ be your type?" Adrien asks her.

She smirks. "Someone hot? I'm not too picky. Tall would be nice. What about you?"

Alya looks at Marinette, who I note looks rather stiff. Marinette's eyes are intent on Adrien, eager to hear his reply. He rubs the back of his neck. "Um, someone strong? She should be willing to fight for what she believes in. What about you, Felix?"

I pause mid-bite. I know Adrien means well, and is trying to include me in the conversation, but I would much rather have this conversation when I am _not_ sitting right next to my crush. "I dunno," I lie.

Nino nudges me, "Come on, there must be something you're into."

I gulp. "I guess… Someone fun?"

Alya scoffs, "I can't imagine you in a relationship, much less with a fun person. They'd want to go the amusement park and you'd want to go to the library."

I bristle. Marinette tries to pacify me, "But they do say opposites attract."

"Thank you," I mumble to her.

Marinette is even nicer by shifting the topic away from me and towards something I am very interested in. "So Nino, what about you?"

"Me?" He asks through a mouthful.

She nods. I observe Nino's face. He seems to think deeply while chewing. During his thoughts, he glances at me, and I avert my eyes so I don't seem like I was staring at his face.

After a swallow, he speaks. "I wouldn't say I have a type, that's pretty restrictive. Crushes and feelings just happen, you know? Not because someone checks off a bunch of boxes on your list of what you want."

Although his response is surprisingly enlightened, Alya is having none of it. "But isn't there anything most of your crushes have had in common?"

He thinks again before replying. "The only common denominator is that they're all good people. And a lot of them are talented, I guess?"

Well I wasn't a good person, but maybe Nino thought I was? And I wasn't talented, but since Nino doesn't play violin maybe he thinks my ability to do so is talent. I crossed my fingers under the table.

Adrien speaks, "Now you're the only one who hasn't said your type, Marinette."

Marinette sits up straight. "What? Me? I'm not- I- I- I-"

Adrien looks at her with innocent eyes. I see her get progressively redder. She turns to me, avoiding Adrien's eyes.

She speaks in a quiet, almost squeaking voice. "I guess I'd like him slightly taller than me. Nice, knowledgeable, gentle..." She bites her lip before adding, "Blonde?"

She doesn't look at Adrien, but I do. I can practically see the gears turning in his head. He looks at me in surprise.

I give him a slight smile, trying to communicate: _That sounds like you, lucky!_

His eyes widen. He gives a nervous laugh, and tries to change the topic. "Say, did we swing by the elephant pit?"

Nino moaned, "I'm so tired of walking though."

I jump on his bandwagon, "Yes, we barely sat down."

Alya nods. Marinette placates Adrien, "Let's go check them out after we eat."

Marinette is a kind girl. Even Chloé's complaints about her were mostly that she was a goody-two-shoes. And apparently was out to get Chloé. Then again, any good person would be out to get Chloé. She laughed when recounting that Marinette lived in a bakery, like a peasant who had to work and live in the same place.

Marinette seems to maybe like Adrien. I am not certain how Adrien feels about that, but maybe Adrien doesn't know for himself yet either. So far as I've known her, she has been nice, polite, maybe clumsy, but overall well-mannered. However, I've never bothered to get to know her more than at a cursory level, so who knows what secrets she's hiding. It would be a worthwhile endeavor to investigate whether she would make a good sister-in-law. And, well, I need to practice making friends.

The easiest way to do this would be to get Marinette to talk about herself. Using the few things I picked up about her, I would drive the conversation in her direction. "So Marinette," I begin, causing Adrien's head to snap towards me, "I hear you live in a bakery."

She nods, "Yeah, my parents run it."

Although I started this, there's an awkward silence after her response. I have to think of another question, "What's that like?" I ask lamely.

Fortunately, Marinette runs with it, filling the empty space, "It's fun! I help out sometimes, there's a lot to do." I make a mental note that Marinette likely would be good at cooking. "It always smells great, too. Fresh pastries every morning."

Alya cuts in, and I'm relieved other people have taken up the mantle of conversation. "The _best_ pastries in Paris."

Marinette giggles, "Alya, don't exaggerate."

"I'm not, you should try them sometime Felix," Alya tells me.

"Maybe I will," I respond in as friendly a manner as possible. Now, to get Adrien involved and closer to Marinette, "What do you think about getting some sweets this week, Adrien?"

Adrien smiles weakly. "I don't know, my dietitian might have some words to say about it. And I've got activities after school most days."

"YoucouldcomeonTuesadysorThursdays" Marinette blurts out.

Adrien blinks. "I mean, I guess those are the days I'm usually most free… It kind of depends on photoshoot schedules"

I make a mental note that Marinette knows an awful lot about Adrien's schedule. Did he ever share that with her?

Nino puts an arm around my shoulder, causing me to nearly jump in my seat. "Hey now, don't leave me out. What if we all went? Next Tuesday?"

"Y-Yes, that sounds nice," I sputter at first, but try to maintain my cool. Truthfully, I was hoping to get mostly just Marinette and Adrien in the same room together (or at least just me, so I could focus on Marinette), but if Nino said he wanted to go anywhere with me I would loath to stop him.

Once people had expressed their assent, even Adrien, Nino let go of my shoulder. Although I am disappointed, I am also relieved. The longer that weighed on me, the more flustered I would have gotten. Now I felt more coherent.

The conversation continued, and the more I interacted with Marinette, the more I became a fan. Whenever someone seemed uncomfortable, myself included, she found ways to shift the conversation in their favor, either changing the subject or reframing the situation. She was an accomplished designer, Alya bragged that Marinette had won competitions and even designed a Jagged Stone cover. When Nino had made me listen to Jagged Stone, I thought the music was a bit too rough for me, but he was a musician nonetheless, and Marinette was honestly impressive for being involved in his designs. I hoped she did not think I was prying with all the questions I asked her, but she did not seem uncomfortable. The only time she got uncomfortable was when interacting with Adrien, but I hoped that was the effect of a crush rather than some issue with him. After all, who could ever have an issue with Adrien?

"Mama! Pére! I'm home!" Marinette calls as she entered the bakery, "I brought a friend!"

I follow behind, glancing at the patrons passing by with bags of warm croissants and macarons.

Her mother, at the counter, looked me over, "Ah yes, Felix, right? From last week?"

Last Tuesday Nino, Marinette, Alya and I had all gone to the bakery. Adrien had a last minute photoshoot, unfortunately, so he could not join. Although I got to spend some nice time with Nino, I was not able to focus on Marinette so much. Thus, I asked to visit her bakery during today's lunch break. She was more than happy to have me over, it seemed.

Talking and being with Marinette is easy. She is like an open book, her expressions are so easily read and her enthusiasm so seemingly sincere that I have a hard time doubting whether anything she says is sincere. Not that I can't. There is still a little voice niggling the back of my mind, saying I'm being a burden and she's forcing herself to be nice to me because she's polite, but I squash it down. I have to believe what she says, she doesn't seem capable of lying. And besides, even if it turns out her kindness towards me is a ruse, my principle reason to befriend her is not friendship. It's to determine whether she is suitable for Adrien and, if so, to bring them closer together. That objective comforts me, giving me a little distance, so I don't care so much what she thinks.

Still, it's hard not to enjoy her company. She brings me into the living room, grabbing a plate of cookies on the way. She plops down on the couch, and I gingerly set myself down beside her. She puts the cookies on the coffee table, and grabs one to eat.

I nibble on one, but swallow before speaking, "So, Marinette."

"Mmm?" She asks without opening her mouth.

I think of how to most gently ease into my desired conversation. "Remember when we were talking about types at the zoo?"  
She swallows. "Yeah, you said something about… fun?"

"And you mentioned blond." I figure I should jump into it. "Was there anyone in particular you were thinking of?"

Her face flushes, and she pauses mid-bite. "N-not you, if that's what you're asking," she eventually responds.

I shake my head, "That's not what I'm asking."

She narrows her eyes at me.

"I noticed you were awfully tongue-tied around..." She stares at me, unmoving, anticipating my next work, "Adrien."

She curls up into a ball and buries her face into a decorative couch pillow, squealing into it. I stiffen, unsure what to do with this development. This basically confirms it, but I did not expect such a… dramatic reaction.

She eventually brings her head back up. "You can't tell him."

"Scout's honor," I tell her.

"But I maybepossiblyhaveahugegiganticcrushonhim."

"It was a little obvious."

Her eyebrows raise, "Do you think he knows?"

"I don't know, I haven't asked him about it. He hasn't mentioned it. Do you want me to investigate?"

"Very, very subtly, if you can."

The conversation lulls, I struggle to think of a way to continue it.

Marinette speaks, "You mentioned someone fun."

"You already said that," I told her.

"Was there anyone in particular you were thinking about?"

I take a moment too long to respond, "…No."

"You know you always angle to sit or stand next to Nino."

My heart practically jumps out of my chest. Was I as obvious as her about my crush? Time to throw her off the trail, "Are you trying to imply something?"

"You always agree with him on what to do, even against Adrien. Are you just best friends? Or something more?"

I blushed, but not for the reason she thinks. "You think we're best friends?"

"You guys spend a lot of time together."

I struggle not to smile.

"Your face got stiffer. Just like it does whenever he does stuff."

Although I'm glad to know my future sister-in-law is so astute, it is not to my advantage at this moment. "What do you mean, 'stuff'?"

"Like when he touches you."

I gape, unsure of how to respond.

She giggles, "I guess opposites really do attract."

I shut my mouth, and cross my arms. "I did not confess to anything."

She nods, still smiling.

"And you absolutely cannot tell a single soul the thing I did not confess to."

She continues nodding.

"Like, not anyone. Not Alya, not Adrien, and especially not Nino."

"You keep my secret, I keep yours." She raises a pinky.

I loop my pinky in for the promise.

"But if you'd like," She continues, "Since you're investigating Adrien for me, maybe I could investigate Nino for you?"

"How?" I ask.

"Do you know if he likes boys?"

"That would be very useful to know," I agree.

She smirks. She's kind, but also clever.

"Just don't be too obvious. I don't want him to suspect anything."

"Scout's honor."


	7. Chapter 7 - Playing Games

"So Adrien," I start.

"Yeah?" He turns his head from the video game we're playing to look at me.

Even as he does so, his character punches mine and sends me flying off the stage. I let out a sigh, but continue the conversation as my character respawns. "It's rough that you couldn't join us at Marinette's last week."

Nino, on the other side of me on the couch, struggling with the game almost as much as I do, agrees, "Yeah, we missed you, bro."

Nino groans when Adrien's mecha kicks him off the stage as well. I take the opportunity to try and throw a hit at Adrien, but his reflexes are fast and he attacks me before I can even think of defense or running. Adrien gives a light chuckle. "Yeah, but father would not be happy to reschedule a whole photo shoot just because I wanted to visit a bakery."

"Do you talk to Marinette often? Would you call yourselves friends?" I pried.

He glanced at me. "Yeah, I guess. Good friends."

Nino whispers into my ear, "Let's team up against Adrien."

His breath against my sensitive ears sends tingles down my spine, which causes me to pause before responding, "I thought we already were."

Both of us had only one life left, while Adrien had three. Nino and I had barely attacked each other, instead we were determined to get Adrien out. I had assumed our plot had implicitly been to team up, but I guess now Nino wanted it to be explicit.

As I dodge some of his attacks, I quiz Adrien some more. "What do you think of her?"  
"Well, she's great, obviously," Adrien responds while turning to block Nino, "Smart, talented, responsible. Why wouldn't anyone like her?" He gave me a pointed look.

If I had not been holding my controller, I would have started rubbing my hands together like a super villain. "Is that a way of saying _you_ like her?"

Adrien froze, just enough that I was able to punch his character twice. Then he recovered and sent me flying off the stage. "As a friend, yeah."

"Ooh, is this a love talk?" Nino asked, "Marinette is pretty cute, isn't she?"

"Yes, and I think anyone who she likes," Adrien looked at me again, "Is lucky and should give her a chance."

Adrien staring at me gave Nino a chance to throw Adrien off the stage. He whooped as Adrien respawned.

"Do you think she likes anyone?" I asked Adrien.

Adrien glared at me, an expression that felt unusual on him. "You're so dense."

This caused Nino to look away from the screen. "What does that mean, Adrien?"

Adrien huffed. Although the exasperation on his face was minuscule, compared to his baseline it was rather dramatic. "Nothing. Felix, if you think there's something there, you should go for it."

Nino gaped. "Wait, Felix, do you think Marinette likes you?"

Adrien took Nino's surprise and used it to throw him off the stage. The game went through its celebratory motions, but we were all distracted. I looked at Nino's surprised face. Surprised but not necessarily… disappointed. I clarified, "What, no!"

Adrien rolled his eyes. I wondered when he had gotten so sarcastic. "Felix, didn't you go to her house yesterday for lunch?"

Nino gasped. "You haven't even been to my house for lunch!"

This was backfiring in a major way. "Adrien, I think you're the dense one."

"I've at least noticed how much attention you guys pay to each other," He retorted.

I needed to clear this up. But I promised Marinette I would not tell Adrien about her crush. What was I to do?

Nino spoke, "Are you gonna be one of those couples that spends all their time together? And then you stop hanging out with her bros? 'Cause then I'll fight her for you."

My heart swelled. Nino framed it in a friendship-like manner, but the thought of him taking up arms to keep me around him made me feel warm.

Adrien laughed. "Nino, didn't you used to like Marinette?"

I froze, eyes wide. So Nino did like girls. He was straight. Or bi, hopefully. But my chances were looking slim.

Nino slapped my back. "Careful, Adrien, you spooked him!" He leaned towards me, "I'm over her, so you don't have to worry about a thing."

His encouragement felt like a stab in the heart. So he would not actually mind if I got a girlfriend. And apparently Adrien did not mind if I got together with Marinette either. I glanced at his petulant face. Or did he?

Time to turn on _Bad Felix_.

"Well, if you say so, Nino. Honestly, I don't really like her, but if you guys think I have a chance..."

"Well you shouldn't just go after her if you don't have _any_ feelings," Adrien responds quickly.

I tap my chin. "Why not? It could be fun. And she's available."

"Marinette deserves someone who likes her as much as she likes-"

"Are you saying I don't deserve her?" I smirk.

He bristles. "I don't mean- It's not you, it's your- you aren't taking her seriously-"

"Oh I can get serious," I told him, "Do you think she likes flowers?"

Adrien sputters, unable to formulate a response.

Nino grabs my arm. "Who doesn't?"

I remind myself that Nino doesn't care about me dating someone else to calm the nerves that fire at his touch. "Thanks for the encouragement, guys."

"No problem, we're bros, after all," Nino responds, hands squeezing my arms just a tiny bit too tightly.

Before Adrien can counter, I stand up. "Congratulations on winning, Adrien," I told him, "I'm going to go plan some stuff now."

Nino lets go of me. I leave them both on the couch as I return to my room.

I call up the nearest florist.

The next day, Marinette is late to school, as usual. She is a hot topic, though. _Someone_ left a bouquet of bluebells on her seat. I sat happily in my seat, listening to the excited buzz around the classroom as Adrien glares at me.

When Nino enters, he glances at the seat behind us before and notes the flowers. His expression is aghast for a moment, but transforms to something more neutral as he sits down. He whispers to me, "Geez, dude, I thought you were joking yesterday."

"I don't know how to joke, Nino," I tell him with a deadpan face.

He mumbles something.

"What was that?" I ask.

"Um," He bites his lip, "Nothing."

"Are you not over her?" I ask, leaning towards him.

I am surprised to see him lean back. He is usually rather touchy, though usually he was the one who initiated. He looks away from me, and raises his hands in surrender, "N-no, I'm definitely over her."

Speaking of, Marinette runs in. All eyes immediately turned to her.

She gives a stiff smile and waves. She power-walks to her seat, but pauses when she sees the bouquet.

Alya whispers to her, but everyone watching intently could hear, "There's a letter."

I made sure the letter was sealed tightly in an envelope, so no one else could read the contents. Marinette gingerly takes it and tears it open. When she pulls out the card, in a gentle matching blue, she starts reading it out loud. "'To a girl who is smart, talented, and responsible'..."

Adrien's head whips towards me as she speaks the words he used. His face screams confusion, and almost… betrayal? I smirk.

Marinette gasps when she reads the end of the letter. She glares at me, and the classroom follows her eyes. "Felix, you, me, in the hallway, _now_."  
Adrien jumps at her harsh voice. The class gasps at the revelation, they can make a pretty good guess as to who sent the bouquet. I stand, prepared to walk, but even before I take two good steps she grabs my wrist and pulls me quickly out of the classroom. I'm surprised by her strength, she pulls me easily and shows no signs of effort. Once we're outside, and the door is closed, she lets go and turns on me. "What was that? I thought you said you didn't like me?"

"I call it 'Operation: Jealous Adrien'."

She glares at me.

I continue, "The compliments in that letter? That was not me. I just quoted what Adrien's said about you."

Her face softens. Fortunately, she has difficulty both being angry and thinking about Adrien at the same time. Her cheeks grow red. "A-Adrien said all of that?"

"But he's persuaded himself that you're in love with me."

"What?" She glowers.

"And the entire time he thought so, he was pouting like a kitten who lost his toy. At first I was like, 'He's so wrong, I need to correct him,' but then I realized I couldn't tell him who you _really_ like-"

She jabs me with a finger. "You better not."

I take a step back. "But then I realized this could be a _strength_. We can use this."

She raises an eyebrow. "How do you figure?"

"Adrien insists you're just a friend. But when I suggested I play with your feelings, he got riled up."

She crosses her arms. "Couldn't that be just because he's a good person?"

"But Nino was quite encouraging. If Nino thinks it's okay, Adrien likely has some sort of bias. Most likely some buried or small feelings of affection for you he refuses to admit."

"Nino was encouraging?" She frowns.

"I never confessed anything to you, remember?" I retort.

She sighs. "Oh dear. I was going to ask whether this plan might ruin your chances with him, but…"

"Let's deal with your love life before we start worrying about mine. If we keep this up, I hope we can rile Adrien up enough to make him confess."

She makes a high-pitched sound. "Confess? Adrien? To me?"

I nod. "I'll play the player, you play the… whatever you are."

She snorts. "You think you can act like a player?"

I purse my lips. "I can do anything if it's for Adrien's own good."

She shrugged. "Okay, but I'm not going to pretend I'm madly in love with you."

"I agree, no offense but I'm not interested in making out with you or acting like an actual couple. You just need to seem like you might consider me, and I'll handle the dramatics."

She groans. "Isn't this all a little complicated?"  
I target her weak point to seal the deal, "Don't you want Adrien to confess to you?"

On cue, she flushes. "Well… Me? Him? You think so?"

The bell rings. She runs back into the classroom. I follow, taking a seat while everyone looks at us.

Nino whispers, "How did it go, man?"

"She's rather shy," I tell him with a vague smirk.


	8. Chapter 8 - Felix is Dense

"Where is Adrien?" Nino asks for the fifth time.

I shrug. "He's not answering any texts. Again."

We sit in the cafe, not having ordered yet, but getting hungrier by the minute. Some screams echo in the distance.

"Another akuma?" I ask Nino.

He checks his phone. "Yeah, Alya's on it. It's dinosaur related."

I roll my eyes. "It never stops, does it."

He shows me the map on his phone. "It's awhile away from here, though."

I narrow my eyes. "That's near Marinette's, though. Maybe I should text her."

He raises an eyebrow.

I've been playing like this a whole week. Every day I did it, it became more fun, and I threw myself into the role. "Tell me, Nino, if you were a girl and I asked you if you were okay during an akuma attack, would your heart skip a beat?"

He laughs quickly. "I don't know."

I made my decision before his response, and am already sending Marinette a text. As I hit send, I glance up at Nino. He turns his mouth up into a smile.

"Do you really like her?" He asks.

I shrug. "She's a nice girl. Like I said, available. Why not?"

He laughs again. "Have you ever thought of, you know, dating someone who you want to date, rather than based on convenience?"  
"I'm trying to be practical."

"But how much does she really know about you? That you're blond, tall, cute, look like Adrien?"

I look behind me, as though I heard a sound, so he doesn't see the face I make in reaction to being called 'cute'.

"Has she ever seen you play violin? Or know you like Lindsey Stirling? Or that despite your stand-offish nature, really care-"

"Do you think a violin serenade would be too much?" I interrupt him, afraid if he continues I will start blushing.

Nino's face twists. He mumbles something, staring at the table.

"What did you say?"

He jerks up. "Maybe a tad, but if that's what you think-"

"Would you be willing to listen to some drafts of it?" I ask him.

He gapes. "You're going to compose it?"

"Why not? I'll make it a short ditty. Short and sweet. I am not terribly skilled in composition, but what is it they say? 'It's the thought that counts'?"

"Yeah, they do say that."

"So would you be willing to listen?" I ask him.

He takes a breath. "Sure, after all, what are friends for?"

* * *

The next day, I practice in my room for a few hours. I am not actually composing for Marinette, I do not feel that strongly about her. But her and Nino both elicit positive emotions from me, so I aim to create a composition using my stronger, more romantic feelings for Nino. I let the notes bounce, and keep it in a cheerful major key. I try to imitate a dubstep 'drop', as Nino calls it, building up to a climax, then swiftly sliding down the chromatic scale to a dramatic release. I think about including a bittersweet intermission from the energetics, to represent both my own longing and his hidden complexity, but remember I need to keep it short.

When I go downstairs for dinner, Adrien is already at the table.

"Nice playing," He tells me.

He must have heard it through the walls. "Thanks, I'm trying to write something for Marinette."

He almost spits his food out. Everything was going according to plan. He takes a gulp of water before responding. "Wow, a song?"

"She seems like she would be weak to a serenade."

He pokes at his food. "Well, good luck."

I wink at him. "If all goes well, then I'll have a girlfriend by the end of next week."

"Then what?"

I pause. "What do you mean?"  
"After the chase. Are you serious about her?"

I shrug. "I'll probably mess around with her for a month or two. Then, when I get bored, I'll dump her."

Adrien stabs the meat on his plate. "I think that might hurt Marinette."

I laugh, feeling like a villain and loving it. "Good thing I'll have dumped her by then."

He glowers.

* * *

Adrien is not the confrontational type. He'd rather let things slide, but is already countering me in regards to Marinette. I just need to push a little more, and Adrien will declare his love. I just need a tiny bit more time.

Nino sits patiently on my bed, watching me prepare the violin and my bow. He chatters on about his day, and I chuckle at the appropriate moments. Finally, I stand up, poised with arms up. "Are you ready?" I ask him.

He grins. "Go for it."

I start off faster then I intend. Nerves from Nino watching the song I wrote for him. I remind myself that he does not know that, and force myself to slow down. The slowing is good, for in the build-up to the climax I need to speed up again. Although I had let my eyes stare aimlessly throughout the room, the focus needed for the drop causes me to close my eyes, and I keep them closed for the duration of the song.

I let out a breath when I lower my arms again. I open my eyes, and see Nino sitting stiffly on my bed. When he catches my eye, his mouth opens as if to gasp. I take a seat next to him on the bed.

"So what did you think?" I ask him.

He turns away from me. "It was… beautiful."

"You think Marinette will like it?"

He lifts a hand up to his face to wipe. Was he sick? He doesn't respond.

"Nino?" I ask again.

"Sorry," He tells me, voice sounding shaky, "Yeah, I'm sure she will."

Although I am hesitant to initiate contact, Nino had done so enough times that I feel able to put my hand on his shoulder. "Nino?"  
"It's great, honestly, I think she'll love it," He tells me, voice starting to steady.

He wipes his face again, still not looking at me. I frown. Did I do something wrong? I tug on his shoulder to turn him around towards me.

His golden eyes are rimmed red. They widen when they make contact with mine. Panic rises in my chest. What did I do? "Nino? What's wrong?"

He pushes me away, and my back lands on the bed. I'm surprised by the aggressive outburst. "You're so dense, Felix."

I push myself up. "What?"

"Marinette doesn't even know you," He spits, "Who has been by your side this whole time? Aside from Adrien? And yet you only want to write a song for this girl you don't even- someone who's just available. She's not the only person in your life who's single!"

My heart pounds, but I can't move. My mind tries to process the implications of all his words. Finally, I start to articulate, "Nino, are you jealous?"

His face is red. A flame alights in me, I have to be red as well. He stands abruptly, turning away and taking off his cap to brush his fingers through his hair. "Sorry, I've had a bad day, I didn't mean to make things weird, just forget I said anything, okay? The song was great." He straightens his cap and starts to walk away.

Not on my watch.

I grab his arm and pull him back onto the bed.

It's crazy. This has to be a dream. But even if it was a dream, I wanted to know. "Nino, answer me, are you jealous?"

He is breathless. Eyes flickering across my face, unsure of what response was appropriate. His mouth is open, uncertain, wordless. Eventually, he conjures a word, "Maybe."

"Maybe?" My eyebrows knit together.

"I don't know!" He exclaims, pulling out of my grasp, "I've been trying my best to be your supportive bro, but there's some nagging thing inside me afraid you'll leave me for Marinette. And I know that doesn't make sense because we're not dating, but I've tried imagining you dating anyone, even aside from Marinette, and I still don't want you to. And this awful, hateful part of me spent the entire song you wrote for Marinette wishing it was for me. I don't know if I'm being a possessive friend, or if I _like_ you, or I'm just crazy-"

"Nino, I know you don't have a serious bone in your body, but if there is any way at all it is possible, please be serious about me," I declare, getting off the bed and kneeling towards him.

He looks down at me from the bed, eyebrows raised. "What?"

I grab his hand. "Everything about Marinette was fake. I was trying to make Adrien jealous so he would realize he likes Marinette," the confession falls easily from my lips, "She doesn't like me. I've talked to her about it. And I don't like her. I couldn't even write her that song, I composed the whole thing while thinking about you."

He stares at me, gaping.

I continue, "I think you're ridiculous. You don't pay attention in class. The vast majority of your music taste is incomprehensible to me. You're a loud, uncultured chatterbox. If someone described you to me, I would immediately dismiss you."

He purses his lips. "Gee, thanks. Is this supposed to make me feel better?"

"But despite all of that, despite my every conscious objection, I can't hate you. You're just so _fun_ to be around, it's like I can take a break from my own stiffness. And as I've continued to spend time with you, there's an affection that's been growing nonstop. I've tried to suppress it, telling myself there's no way you could like me back, but if there is any possible way, then please-"

"Are you saying you like me?" Nino exclaims.

I squeeze his hand tighter and nod.

He laughs. He pulls me up from the ground and embraces me. He whispers into my ear, "I did not imagine things turning out this way."

The embrace is warm and unexpected. I'm afraid I'm too stiff in it, but force myself to bring my arms up and hug him back. "What did you expect?"

"Well I thought I would be able to get through the song without accidentally declaring my feelings. And I thought that if I ever expressed those feelings you would just brush me off. Or call be gross. Or 'uncultured swine'."

I cling onto him. "Do you like me?"

He chuckles. "I was uncertain, but now I'm sure. I don't know how anyone could resist after seeing you beg like that."

I push away to face him. "I did not beg!"

He grins, and puts on a high-pitched voice, "'Please, Nino, if there's any possibly way you could like me back-'"

"I did not sound like that." I pout.

He pulls me back into the hug. "Shh, I won't tell. It can be our little secret that _the_ Felix Agreste begged me to take him."

I bury my face into his shoulder, not able to think of a good response.

We stand, unmoving. I am still not entirely convinced this is a dream. It feels crazy. Just last week I was convinced he would never like me back. Now I am in his arms after confessing our feelings to each other? My heart is pumping like I am running a marathon. I take a breath, and note that he has a scent. Slightly musty, not great but not bad either. Just part of him. I take another sniff, hoping he does not notice.

We part, and when I look into his eyes I realize the gravity of the situation. I just confessed. To Nino. Heat rises up from my neck. He grins.

The influx of emotions is overwhelming. I don't know if I should scream, panic, dance, kiss him, or just run away. I speak, "Okay it was very nice having you over, goodbye!"

He frowns, "Already?"

I start to push him towards the door. "I need some time to collapse about this."

"Can I get a kiss before I go?" He asks with a devilish smile.

We're at my door. I look at his lips. He licks them.

I give him a peck, unsure of how I could give him a good kiss. Should I look up how to be a good kisser? Our lips barely touch, but I already start getting excited. He freezes, and I'm not sure if he was joking about wanting a kiss. I stare at him, and see a flush creeping up. He gulps.

He opens the door. "Okay, thank you, bye, see you!" He rushes.

He closes the door quickly behind him and I hear his footsteps down the hall.

I return to my bed and collapse.

I kissed a boy.

I kissed _Nino_.

I made him jealous and confessed _my_ feelings and he confessed _his_ feelings and we _kissed_.

I rolled on the bed, filled with a nervous and excited energy. That really happened.

Were Nino and I dating now? I sat up, uncertain. We did not specify. But it seemed like the natural next step. Maybe I should ask him. No, I recall his teasing of my 'begging'. He will ask me.

Speaking of, what am I going to do about Adrien and Marinette now?


	9. Chapter 9 - Start a Party

The next day, despite everything that happened, when I see Nino I cannot think of a single thing to say to him. How does one follow up such a conversation? It seems like it would be too much of a jump to act madly in love when I have been playing cool for so long, so I cannot jump into his arms. But I wonder when and if it would be appropriate for me to acknowledge our confessions and maybe become closer in some way.

His eyes catch mine and widen. He puts on a smile and greets me, "Hi."

My lips were on those lips yesterday. I have to tell myself to not think about it so I can respond, "Hello."  
Adrien, walking behind me, also greets Nino, and immediately engages him in some conversation. Apparently a band they both like released a single yesterday. Adrien is shocked to learn Nino somehow missed the news? What was he even doing yesterday? Nino glances at me, but gives Adrien an easy and casual reply, blaming his focus on some TV show binge that drowned everything else out.

When class starts and we're all seated, I find my eyes constantly wandering to Nino. I never catch him looking back. Did I dream everything yesterday? He seems so put-together. He doodles in his notebook, as usual, and glances up only occasionally to jot down what the teacher writes on the board. I realize my own carelessness and focus back on the class, writing down what is on the board but not knowing why it is there due to my own inattentiveness. If I were not in class I would have slapped myself, telling myself to focus. Nino is not freaking out, why should I be?

* * *

We spend the rest of the day casually. Or, as casual as I could force myself to be. Adrien does not seem to notice the change between us. Nino is so casual that I'm half-way convinced that everything really was a dream.

Then, during a break between classes, Alya leans over our desk. "Hey guys, are you busy this weekend?"

The three of us shake our heads.

Alya continues, "Marinette's parents are gone for the weekend, and we were thinking about a little… get-together? Would you guys come" The way she intones 'get-together' sounds like it may be a bit crazier than a general hang out.

"Sure, that sounds great!" Adrien exclaims.

I nod.

"Totes, my dude," Nino responds.

"Great!" Alya bounces off to go invite some other classmates.

Marinette groans. "You okay, Marinette?" I ask.

She straightens up. "Yeah, Alya is just really energetic about this."

"Do you not want to?" Adrien asked, with a concerned look, "I'm sure if we talked to Alya, she wouldn't want to do something that makes you uncomfortable-"

"Nonono!" Marinette rushes, "It's fine! It's great! I originally suggested the party! She's just very energetic! I'm fine! We're all fine!"  
Pride swells in my chest hearing Marinette say words to Adrien that were intelligible.

"Well, alright. We'll see you tomorrow, then!" Adrien smiles.

* * *

Maybe I should see a psychologist. Nino did not acknowledge our mutual confession for the rest of Friday. A hallucination is not totally out of the question. On Saturday afternoon, I am rubbing my temples at my desk. Nino did say that he was not sure of his feelings at first. Even though he said he figured them out by the end, what if he did not? What if he thought he liked me, but then after kissing me realized he is straight? It would make sense for Nino to at least text me something or start a conversation but he did not seem to want to act any differently from usual, so what-

Adrien opens the door, interrupting my thoughts.

"You can knock," I tell him with a twinge of irritation.

"I did," He tells me, entering the room, "You didn't answer. Are you ready for the party?"

"The-? Oh, Marinette's thing."

He narrows his eyes. "Are you going to show her the song during it?"

I chuckle. I almost forgot about the whole farce going on. "No, I would rather it be a private, intimate affair."

He rolls his eyes. I am thrilled to see such a rebellious side of him.

We are among the first people to arrive.

Alya greets us with more enthusiasm than I have in a day and leads us to the living room. Marinette is there, of course, standing on a couch and reaching the edge of a window to hang up decorations. When we enter, she turns to look at us, but loses her footing on the couch. As she slips towards the ground, Adrien leaps towards her before I can blink and catches her in his arms.

Even I am a little embarrassed to look on the heroic scene and, likely, Marinette fantasy. Her face turns beet-red, so I turn away to give her a little privacy. I see Alya still has her eyes trained on them, grinning with wild eyes.

"Are you okay?" Adrien asks.

"Yes!" Marinette says in what sounds more like a squeak than a word, "Thankyouverymuchpleaseputmedownthankyou."

I do not witness the dismount, but I hear two sets of footsteps and feel safe turning back around to see them. Marinette is still red, and Adrien walks behind with his eyes still trained on her.

"Good reflexes, Adrien," Alya comments.

He laughs nervously, "Must be all that fencing."

Eventually, most our classmates are there, including Nino. Chloe and Sabrina are not, I assume Chloe because she did not get along with almost anyone and Sabrina because she would not go without Chloe. Alya gathers us around the table for a game, and Nino takes the seat next to me. Maybe I did not completely imagine everything that happened? Then again, Adrien was at the other side of him, so maybe he sat in that seat for Adrien rather than me.

"Now for a good game… Never-Have-I-Ever!" Alya shouts.

I raise in eyebrow as my classmates start to titter. I whisper to Nino, "What's 'Never-Have-I-Ever'?"

Nino nearly jumps out of his seat when I whisper to him. Rather than talking to me, he talks to Alya, "Can you explain the rules? Not everyone here has played it."

Alya nods. "The rules are simple. Everyone holds up a hand, five fingers out. Then, one person starts and says something they have never done, like 'never have I ever been to America.' Then, if anyone in the circle has done that thing, they have to put down one finger. When all of your fingers are down, you lose. Whoever is last to have their fingers up wins. We go in a circle saying statements."

"Thank you," I murmur.

Everyone puts up their hands.

Alya starts, "Never have I ever… eaten paper!"

I look around the table, and Max puts down a finger while exclaiming, "Alya! I told you that in confidence!"

I see. So the game can be used to out people. I start sweating.

Marinette goes next. Fortunately, there were five people between us, so I had some time to think of a statement. Marinette hums before deciding on her answer, "Never have I ever… eaten glue."

Max brought another finger down. "Now this is just cruel. That was in kindergarten"

Rose sighed. "Don't worry Max, I'll think of one you probably haven't done. Never have I ever… kissed a boy."

My heart stops. Was I ready to come out to everyone here? Marinette knows, Nino knows (if that whole confession thing really happened). I would be okay with Adrien figuring out eventually. But I did not know any of these other classmates enough to know how they might react. Either way though, if Nino brings his finger down, and people ask who it was… I look at Nino. Nino looks at me. I look at his hand for any movement. It twitches. I do not bring my finger down. He does not bring his finger down. Our eyes meet, as though it would clarify anything about what we are.

"That doesn't help!" Max exclaims, bringing another finger down.

"Oops," Rose giggles.

I sit stiffly. Was Max gay? Or was it an incidental thing? I look for the reactions of those around me. Although some look surprised, nobody seems mad or distressed about a same-sex kiss.

"Marinette!" Alya exclaims, looking at Marinette's lowered finger, "Who? When?"

Marinette laughs, "It's really nothing, it was, um, a situation. It wasn't with a crush or anything, and it was awhile ago, not very important, honestly."

I note Mylene also has a finger down, but considering she is dating Ivan nobody is surprised. Alya's gasping about Marinette's confession is interrupted by Juleka starting, "Never have I ever… been late to class."

Alya, Marinette, Adrien, Nino, Alix, Kim, and Ivan all bring a finger down.

"That was a good one, you're really taking out the competition!" Alya cheers on.

So part of the strategy could be to choose a thing most people would have done, so other people lose their fingers faster. There's only three people left before it reaches me.

Mylene goes next, "Never have I ever… been scared of the dentist."  
Rose, Nino, and Ivan put their fingers down.

Adrien takes a deep breath. Then he glances at me before speaking, "Never have I ever written a song for my crush."

"Ouch," I exclaim, knowing he is right about me, but not in the way he thinks. I am surprised to see Nino brings a finger down as well.

"What!" Alya exclaims, looking at Nino and me.

Alix whispers into my ear, "Is it Marinette?"  
"That's a secret," I tell her vaguely, but with enough of a smirk that she should assume.

Alya leans over the table to get closer to Nino. "Who would you write a song for?"

"Oh geez, Alya, you don't gotta put me in the spotlight like that. Don't we all deserve a little privacy?"

I also wonder who Nino wrote the song for. I did not even know Nino wrote music. Maybe it was back during his crush on Marinette.

Marinette pats Alya's shoulders, "Now, now, Alya, no need for interrogation. And Nino is next."

"Never have I ever..." Nino taps a finger, thinking of a continuation. "...played violin."

Max and I bring down a finger. "You play?" I ask, surprised.

"Yes, just a little, I went through a few years of lessons in my childhood."

"We're still children," Juleka comments.

"Felix next!" Alya moves the game along.

I purse my lips. I had to think of something most people had done, but not me. Maybe… "Never have I ever kissed a girl?"

Alya, Rose, Juleka, Adrien, and Ivan all brought a finger down.

Marinette screeched at Alya, "What! Who?"  
"Someone from my old school," Alya said easily, "Didn't work out though."

Rose and Juleka may confirm what I suspected for awhile, and although some people give them knowing smirks, with Mylene ribbing Juleka, nobody commented. Ivan is also no surprise. Adrien, however… I have to comment, "Adrien, I didn't know."

"It wasn't a big deal, it was, um, a work thing," he admits sheepishly.

Alix goes next, and she is ready. "Never have I ever confessed to someone!"

Oh dear.

I bring my finger down. Even if the Nino thing never happened, there was the whole thing with Eldon from my old school. I see Nino gulp and put his finger down as well. Alya, Ivan, Rose, and Kim also bring down fingers.

Alya explains herself before anyone asks, "It was the same girl."

I wonder about Kim, but no one seems surprised by him. Adrien asks Nino, "What about you, Nino? I don't recall you ever confessing to Ma-" he freezes, realizing Marinette is in the room, "Maaaany people. And by many I mean any."

I glance at Marinette, who does not seem to have noticed the slip-up, though she does look curiously at Nino. Nino crosses his arms. "It's private."

Adrien, sensing a prickliness uncommon to Nino, moves on to me. "And Felix?"

"At my old school," I state simply, hoping no one will pry. I catch Nino's head jerk towards me, but I do not turn to face it.

Kim laughs. "I can't imagine you in love, Felix."

I purse my lips. "'Love' is a bit dramatic. I just liked a classmate."

Max carries the game on. "Never have I ever… crushed on someone in this room."

I put my finger down. It was both true, and people would likely assume I was crushing on Marinette. Everyone except for Alix, Adrien, and Max brings down a finger. I glare at Adrien. Has he not realized his own crush yet?

Alya squealed, "Wow Max! You maximized the number of people and the drama at the same time!"

He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose with a confident expression. "I have to make up for all the points I lost in the beginning, after all.

Kim goes next, "Never have I ever played spin-the-bottle."

Alya and Alix both bring down a finger. Alya puts her hands together and rubs them like a supervillain. "Next game, guys?"

Nobody reacts loudly. It seems everyone has mixed feelings, myself included. The only one I would want to kiss would be Nino. It could be a nice opportunity… But did I really want to kiss him in front of everyone? "That game seems like too much drama," I state simply.

Kim scoffs. "What, are you scared, Felix?"

"It's not about being scared, it just does not make sense to kiss randomly."

Max cuts in, "We've established that about 77% of people here have had a crush on someone in this room. With those odds, it is likely most people will have an exciting time."

I cross my arms. "People who want to kiss should just kiss. No need for such a childish game."

"Let's continue this discussion _after_ this game," Marinette hops in, "Nathaniel?"

Nathaniel, who I forgot was even in the game, who still has all fingers up, says in a quiet voice, "Never have I ever… broken a bone."

Rose, Nino, Alix, Kim, and Ivan all bring down a finger. Nino and Ivan are out of fingers, so they bring down their hands. Alya clarifies, "Ivan, you can still ask a question even though you're out, since you're last and didn't get a chance."

He nods. "Never have I ever… entered an artistic competition."

"Do you count music?" I ask.

"Yes," Ivan tells me.

I bring down a finger, as do Marinette and Nathaniel. Now I had only one finger left.

The circle continued, people slowly getting out. Max, then Kim, then me with a question on anyone who had ever modeled targeting Adrien, though I had done some shoots as a child. Alya, Marinette, then Rose were next. Juleka and Alix got out at the same time. Then Adrien. Then it was just Mylene and Nathaniel. Nathaniel got Mylene out on a question about acting.

"Finally!" Alya exclaimed, "Now spin-the-bottle?"

People, after sharing such a good time with Never-Have-I-Ever, seem more open to spin-the-bottle. I am the main opponent.

"It's ridiculous. Statistically, if there's one person you want to kiss, there's only a… one out of thirteen chance of that happening."

"Actually one in twelve, since you the spinner would not include themselves. Eight percent chance," Max clarifies.

Alya yawns. "If you don't want to do it, Felix, then we can play it without you."

I do not mind that too much. Adrien stands up, "If Felix doesn't want to play, then I won't play either. It's no fun to be the only one left out."

Adrien's support is almost surprising. I have been tormenting him a little bit with Marinette the past few weeks, so his-

Marinette's eyes glare straight at me. Oh dear. I had to think about Marinette's opportunities; didn't I promise her I would help her get together with Adrien? And now, with my withdrawal, I would take away that chance for her.

I press Adrien's shoulder down. "It's alright Adrien, I'll play. So long as we can have a rule that if Adrien and I spin onto each other, I don't have to kiss him."

Alya guffaws, but accepts. "I wouldn't mind that ship, but if you're not into incest..."

Adrien looks shocked at Alya's words. I get the impression he both did not think about the possibility of having to kiss his cousin, and the possibility that some people would be into that.

Alya scurries to the kitchen and gets out an empty soda can from Marinette's recycling. She places it primly in the center of the table. "Then let's get started!"


End file.
